Well it’s been my first full month back at blogging and man has it been an adventure.

As with most things in life I think it is very important to reflect on the past so that you can make changes and set goals for the future. Because of this, I am starting monthly “reviews” of the blog to track progress and set goals (similar to income reports, I just don’t want to just focus on income)

I really hope you find these published reviews as helpful as possible. I would love to hear your feedback on what you would like to hear more or less about. My intention is not to brag or put anyone down, everyone has their own blogging journey. It is more that I want to document what I did so that others and myself can learn and use these as a historical timeline to look back on to see how different things affect the success (or failure) of the blog.

General Background

I originally started this blog back in April and had about 10 posts. Well then life happened and I needed to step back. My family said I went through 4 of the 5 major life events in about 4 months. I got a new job, bought a house, my mom was diagnosed with cancer (she is doing well!), and I got married. The only thing I am missing is having a baby, which right now is still a few years out.

Coming back to the personal finance and PF blogging community has been awesome. It is a great group of people and I highly recommend you get involved. Some great places to start are the Rockstar Finance Forums or PF Facebook groups such as M$M group

October started out strong; I was very involved in both the PF community and social media. I tried to comment on at least two other blogger’s posts every day. I also decided for focus my social efforts of Pinterest and Twitter (more on that in a little).

Towards the end of the month though, I was forced into an unexpected hiatus. I went on a business trip for a week and a half and my personal computer decided it wasn’t going to charge. I wasn’t going to use my work computer to blog, so I was down to just what I could do on my phone, which was minimal.

It was a real downer that I didn’t do much for the blog during the last week, but since right now I just blog for fun and to help other people, it isn’t the end of the world. It is also still just the beginning of the blog so hopefully my few followers forgive me for disappearing.

Traffic

Wow, I am amazed by my first full month’s traffic:

Over 10,000 pageviews?!?! Based on how my first ten posts performed in April, I was hoping for 500 pageviews my first month.

One of the first things you probably will notice is a huge spike in traffic around 10/10. That was when J.Money picked my Free Budget Binder Printable to share on Rockstar Finance. It was an amazing feeling to have a post featured as a new blogger.

There is also a noticeable difference from the middle of the month when I was managing all my social media and blog to the end of the month when I was on my hiatus.

Traffic Sources

My biggest source of traffic were my social media presence, with Pinterest bringing in about 2100 of the 2190 social sessions. The rest of the social traffic was from Twitter and then a few from Facebook (which as of right now, the blog doesn’t even have a Facebook)

I am now a firm believer of the power of Pinterest group boards. I have joined about 15 and still want to join some more. Group boards are great because when you pin to them, not only do your followers see your pins, but so do all the followers of the group board.

Along with group boards, Tailwind has been key to getting traffic from Pinterest. I was hesitant to pay the money for Tailwind but after trying it for free, I was convinced.

I have employed a system of using board lists to loop my pins through group boards to make sure I have a variety of pins going to the right boards each day. If this strategy continues to work out, I will dive more into it if you guys would find that helpful.

After social media, referral was my next biggest source, many coming from Rockstar Finance. Right now not many of my articles have been featured on other websites which I think is to be expected for a new blog.

Top Posts

Income and Expenses

Yes, one day I would love to earn some decent money from this blog. No, today or probably the next several months or year is not that day. Right now I am not focusing on making money, but I am still making a small effort.

I have been monetizing by using a couple affiliate links for products that I was going to talk about anyways.

I also have one small ad on my sidebar. This is more so my audience is used to seeing at least an ad, so that in the future if I decide to switch advertisers, it won’t seem so out of place. Or at least that is the thought that I have heard from other bloggers. Let me know what your thoughts are.

Honestly, I was expecting about $0.10; I am more than happy to have made more than nothing. As the saying goes though, you have to spend money to make money.

My expenses for this month were not too bad. I had already bought my hosting and domain name when I started the blog last April. I also mentioned that I broke down and bought a Tailwind subscription, but I already know it is worth it. Otherwise, I have a couple monthly billed services that have been really useful.

Canva for Business: $12.95 (still deciding whether this is worth it, then I will switch to an annual subscription to save some money)

Fiverr: $5

Total: $165.95

Goals for Next Month

My first full month had its ups and downs. There were some things that I thought went really well and definitely some areas to improve upon. I want to publicly set goals in order to hold myself more responsible.

Consistency

Posts were anything but consistent in October. My business trip with no personal computer also forced me on a hiatus for the last week and a half of the month.

In November I want to stick to a consistent posting schedule. Consistency is great for readers because then you know when to set that alarm on your phone to read a new Fixing My Finance Post

Realistic Goal: Post twice a week, on Monday and Thursday. Stretch goal: Third post on Saturdays.

Traffic

As I discussed earlier, I couldn’t be happier with my traffic for my first month. I saw some temporary increases in traffic from when my budget binder was featured on Rockstar Finance.

Because I can’t predict if a post will get featured or go viral on a different platform, I want to set goals assuming I won’t. My social presence continues to grow so I hope to at least maintain most of my non-referral traffic.

Realistic Goal: 8,000 pageviews. Stretch Goal: 14,000 pageviews

Social

I struggled with the best way to set goals for social media presence. Followers is probably the easiest way to track it, but I don’t think it is the best way to tell how many people I actually engage on each platform.

For Pinterest, Tailwind (link) makes it really easy to track engagement and repins.

Realistic Goal: 50 repins. Stretch Goal: 80 repins.

For Twitter, I manage that the old fashion way and do not really have a good method to count interactions, so I will have to settle for follower count:

Realistic Goal: 500 followers. Stretch Goal: 750 followers.

Income

I debated with myself on if I should even make an income goal. As I stated before, right now I am not focusing on the income aspect of the blog, although you will see some affiliate links for products I was already going to mention or my one little ad on the sidebar.

Realistic Goal: $10. Stretch Goal: $30.

Conclusion

That’s a wrap on my first full month blogging!

Hopefully you found this helpful. In future months I will go into more detail as to what strategies work well and which ones fell short, this month was more just getting into the swing of things.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/11/07/review-of-my-first-full-month-blogging/feed/0474How to Have a Wedding Without Breaking the Bankhttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/25/how-to-have-a-wedding-without-breaking-the-bank/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/25/how-to-have-a-wedding-without-breaking-the-bank/#respondThu, 26 Oct 2017 01:44:25 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=389Read More »]]>Learn about ways to save tons of money on your wedding. I break down different ways to cut spending in each aspect of your big day including venue, food, attire, decorations, and more. Plus a couple bonus pictures from my wedding This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

The average price of a wedding has skyrocketed over the past couple years. The Knot estimates that the average cost of a wedding in 2016 was $35,329. That’s more than a decent down payment on a house, a luxury car, or the average student loans of graduating college students.

This price tag is shocking to most people, but as someone who just had a wedding, I can definitely understand how it can happen. If you aren’t careful with your budget, the cost of your wedding can easily get out of control.

I am really excited to share simple ways to save money on your wedding. (Ok, so I might be a little excited to share some of my wedding pictures too)

The Knot also provides a nice break down of the cost for each category, let’s take a closer look at each one and how you can save big on your big day.

Source: www.theknot.com

Fair warning, this is a long post, you can always skip through to just the items that matter to you!

Venue

As you can see, a venue takes up the largest portion of your budget, luckily there are many ways to save money.

If you live in a city, try finding a location further out from downtown. My friends are saving over $30/person by having their wedding an hour outside of Chicago instead of in the city. Not to mention this also means cheaper hotels for guests that are traveling.

Another easy way to save a ton of money is to be flexible with your date. My other friend wanted a May wedding but the venue she loved still offered “winter pricing” in April. She decide to have the wedding two weeks earlier and saved close to $25/person. Being flexible with the day of the week is also great, many places offer discounts for Friday and Sunday weddings.

You can also save some money by having your ceremony and reception at the same venue. By having them at the same place, you don’t have to pay for transportation between locations and your guests don’t have to figure out where they are supposed to be.

Another way to save big is by having your reception at low-cost venues such as backyards, parks, fire halls, historical building rentals, and church halls. You might have to do a little extra work as far as decorations and essentials (table and chairs), but it could be worth the hassle for a low or no-cost venue.

Photographer

My husband and I really struggled with how much we wanted to spend on a photograph. I knew pictures were the one thing I really didn’t want to skimp on because we were going to treasure them for the rest of our lives.

Don’t be afraid to ask if a photographer is willing to take out part of a package in exchange for a discount. You could forgo printed copies of the pictures and instead get the digital copies you can print yourself. Also consider having a friend shoot your engagement photos or opting out of having an extra photographer.

Wedding Planner

Wedding planners are a great resource if you are busy or easily stressed. However, it is definitely possible to plan a wedding on your own and save the cost of a planner. There are many free resources online to help you organize everything you should be doing and when.

I will say, Allen and I did hire a wedding planner because our wedding was across the country from where we live. Our wedding planner was super helpful and she did get us a couple extra discounts on some of our vendors. If you are going to hire a planner, ask if they will pass along any planner kickbacks to you.

Reception Band/Reception DJ

Great music can make or break your reception, but you don’t want it to blow your budget. One of the easiest ways to save money is to shop early and shop around.

Newer DJ’s typically charge a little less because they are still trying to get their foot in the door. You can always check out a DJ beforehand at a public event to see if you like their style.

If your budget is really tight you could forego formal entertainment and make a playlist of your own. You can rent speakers for relatively cheap and play music right from an iPod. There are many recommendations online for songs and playlists.

Florist/Decor

Gorgeous centerpieces and decor set the mood of your reception. In order to save money, opt for in-season flowers and large/cheap flowers that take up space like hydrangeas.

If you are determined to use a certain type of flower, consider going with artificial flowers. I was dead set on red roses and the centerpieces I wanted would require over 1500 roses total. I found these awesome foam roses on Amazon that we used for all my center pieces and bouquets. I literally ordered 5 different types of foam roses from various vendors and these were by far the best ones.

The other pro to using artificial flowers is that you can keep your centerpieces and sell them. I took all my centerpieces to a local bridal consignment shop (for my fellow Minnesotans: Bride-to-be Consignment) after the wedding and sold them for several hundred dollars and got most of the cost back.

If flowers really aren’t your thing, you could also do non-flower centerpieces. Pinterest is a great resource to find unique non-floral centerpieces. If something you want to use is expensive to buy, look into renting parts from an events company.

Wedding Dress

Certain bridal dress shows on TV *cough* Say Yes to the Dress *cough* show brides buying dresses that cost more than my first car.

Luckily, there are many options to spend less on a dress. Buying a used dress or renting one are great options. See if there is a local consignment shop near you that sells wedding dresses. Otherwise, eBay and wedding forums are great places to check too.

If buying used or renting don’t appeal to you, you can still buy new without breaking the bank.

Call around to several bridal shops and ask their average dress prices so that you know you are shopping at places with dresses in your budget. When you go to your appointments, make sure you are adamant about your price limit and only try on dresses in your budget.

David’s Bridal also has $99 dress sales which is awesome! Also keep in mind, their website runs promotions above and beyond the store so you might be better off buying online. I have gotten two bridesmaid’s dresses online when they were having a $40 off online only sale

If you are looking for non-traditional wedding dress, check out department or dress stores to save money.

My beautiful wedding dress! Photo credit: Jorge Santiago Photography

Groom’s Attire

There are two typical routes for groom’s attire: rent a tux or buy a suit.

If you are going the rental tux route, look for a place that offers free tux rentals for the groom if his groomsmen order from the same place. Allen rented his tux from Men’s Warehouse. Men’s Warehouse is great too because they can match any color bridesmaid’s dress from David’s Bridal.

Buying a suit for the wedding is a great option because, well, then you have another suit! You can get years of wear out of a suit which will help offset the cost.

Wedding Cake

Similar to wedding dresses, TV shows featuring outrageous cakes, have changed expectations as well as budgets.

A typical tiered wedding cake with moderate decorations runs about $3-$5/slice. If you want a custom shape/design you could be paying upwards of $1000 for a cake.

Luckily it is really easy to save on a cake. You can have a simple display cake that is either just one tier or made of Styrofoam that the bride and groom cut at the reception. Then the guests receive pieces of a sheet cake or cupcakes to actually eat. You can get sheets cakes for cheap at bakeries or even Costco.

Invitations

One of the easiest ways to save on invitations is to cut back on postage. Did you know you have to buy a special stamp that costs $0.21 more than a regular stamp if you are sending square invitations?

Another way to save is to wait for a sale and order everything at once from an online printing company. Many companies such as Wedding Paper Divas, Vista Print, and Tiny Prints have thousands of pre-designed templates you can choose from.

Transportation

Transportation can quickly get out of hand. I remember we were quoted $2000 for a shuttle to get guests to and from the hotel to wedding. Needless to say we found different options.

One of the easiest ways to eliminate transportation costs is to pick a venue that has a hotel onsite that you and guests can stay at.

If that is not an option, look for hotels that offer free shuttles to local venues.

You can also get creative and find unique rides. Have a family member drive you in his old classic car. Allen and I took an Uber the 8 blocks from our venue to hotel at the end of the night.

If you have your heart set on a limo, make sure you know exactly how long you need it. No sense hiring a limo for 5 hours if you just need it for an hour to take you from the ceremony to the reception.

Favors

Scaling back on your favors is one of the least noticed categories to cut costs. While personalized memorabilia from your wedding is adorable, make sure you ask yourself if it is really something your guests will use or if it will end up in a junk drawer (better yet ask an honest friend, you might be blinded by the cuteness of your idea)

DIY is a great idea for favors to save money. For an inexpensive edible favor, buy a couple yards of tulle in your color and make little pouches of candy tied with ribbon and a tag with your name on them.

My mom and her friend handmade these adorable cake pops for our favors. For the cake mix, icing, chocolate, bags, ribbon, and tags it was less than $80.

Bride and Groom cake pops! Photo Credit: Undisclosed family member

Rehearsal Dinner

When we were looking for rehearsal dinner places, it seemed like most formal restaurants were priced in the $30-$45+ per plate range (not including drinks or tip). Depending on how large your guest list is, that can get really expensive really fast.

I like to think that since your wedding will be a more formal event, why not go a little more casual with rehearsal.

Allen and I had ours at a local pub and all the food and tip came to ~$400 for 30 people. We also opted to not pay for alcohol for rehearsal since we knew there was going to be an open bar at the wedding the next night.

You could also do a potluck or caterer and either rent out a cheap room or host it at family’s house.

Officiant

Depending on the type of ceremony you are having, you might need a specific officiant. Religious officiants typically have a usual price/suggested donation. If you are open to other officiants, any of your friends or family can get a certificate online for just a couple dollars and perform the ceremony.

Catering (per person)

The cost for catering can vary greatly depending on the type of food. Even if your caterer has set packages you can still work with them to negotiate and cut costs. For example, our catering package included hot hors d’oeuvres and cheese/fruit display for cocktail hour. However if we went with just the cheese/fruit we would save $5/person.

How your meal is served will also factor into the cost. Buffet style tends to be the cheapest, followed by stations, and then sit-down. Buffet style is also easiest if you have a large guest list.

You can also save money with the type of meal you serve. Opting for food like BBQ or food truck food is less expensive than a steak dinner.

Depending on the time of day of your reception, you could possibly get away with not serving a full meal and just offering a spread of heavy appetizers.

Alcohol/Bar

It can be taboo to not have some sort of free alcohol at a wedding (unless you know that almost all of your guests don’t drink)

Our venue required us to use their bar service at $26/person for 4 hours of open bar so unfortunately there was not much room to save. Even though it was a sizable chunk of our budget, I am glad we had it because our guests enjoyed it.

If you can do your own alcohol, you can save by limiting your selection. Try offering a couple signature drinks and 2-3 types of beer and wine.

Supplying the alcohol yourself will also save you big money. Costco has a great selection of store-brand liquor that tastes just like the name brand for half the price.

Bridal Hair & Make-up

Hair and make-up is an important part of a bride’s overall look. There a three main options: go to a salon, have a stylist come to you, or do-it-yourself.

Doing your own hair and make-up (or having a talented friend help) is by far the cheapest option. Some brides also prefer doing their own hair and make-up because they feel like they look more like their true self.

My wedding planner said that going to a salon will typically be 10-15% cheaper than having a stylist travel to do your hair where you are getting ready.

Some stylists will also charge less for less dramatic looks; i.e. natural makeup will be cheaper than full out make up and a blowout would be cheaper than a full up-do.

Conclusion

There are tons of great ways to save money on your wedding, it all comes down to what your priorities are and what will fit in your budget. I have heard of brides that wore a $5,000 dress to a fire hall pot-luck reception that cost less than $1,000.

Hopefully you found some helpful ways to save money on your dream wedding!

Leave a comment letting me know how you saved or plan to save money on your wedding!

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/25/how-to-have-a-wedding-without-breaking-the-bank/feed/0389How I Spent Thousands of Dollars My First Six Months As a Home Ownerhttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/20/how-i-spent-thousands-of-dollars-my-first-six-months-as-a-home-owner/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/20/how-i-spent-thousands-of-dollars-my-first-six-months-as-a-home-owner/#respondFri, 20 Oct 2017 23:19:24 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=455Read More »]]>This post walks you through some of my biggest expenses during my first 6 months as a homeowner. Also learn tips on how you can avoid these expenses or at least lessen them for your first home. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

Buying a house is an exciting time in one’s life. It is the start of many memories as well as a solid financial investment.

One of the biggest differences between owning a house and renting are the added expenses for maintenance and the unpredictable. Unfortunately during my first six months of being a homeowner, I have experienced my fair share of the latter.

Allen and I had both grown up doing chores around the house and felt prepared for handling routine maintenance. We also had some money stashed away in our emergency fund however I would not have called it fully-funded by any means.

I wanted to take a look back at some of our major expenses during our first six months of owning our home, not only for my own reflection, but to show you some of what can happen as a home owner, how to avoid/save money on it, and why you need a larger emergency fund as a home owner.

As I was writing this post I was amazed with how much we have been through (and how much we have spent). It has been a trying 6 months and I have found that sometimes all you can do is take a deep breath, handle it, (laugh at your luck), and move on.

Day 3: We Have No Tools

You know what you don’t own when you live in a high-rise apartment? A lawnmower, weed whacker, fertilizer spreader, rake, shovel, etc

Needless to say we had to find some tools relatively quickly before our dogs got lost in the wilderness that was our yard.

Unfortunately we are about a 20 hour drive from our parents so there isn’t really an option to just go borrow mom and dad’s lawnmower and tools, and while our neighbor’s introduced themselves, I wasn’t exactly going to ask them to borrow everything.

So we set out to find some tools of our own.

Tools are expensive, did you know that a fertilizer spreader is over $50 at a hardware store? I was appalled by how expensive they were but Allen wasn’t convinced by my idea of drilling some holes in a 5-gallon bucket and walking around the lawn, so we bought a new one. Craigslist was a no-go on the spreader, probably because this was the time that everyone was using theirs.

For the new homeowner, I would definitely recommend using Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Letgo, etc for all your tool needs. Frankly, when you are just starting out, you don’t need the fanciest equipment, you just need something that will get the job done.

Yes, we spent more than I would care to on tools and such, but at the same time, we really needed them and now we have them.

Day 10: The Kitchen Sink Concoction

It was evident within the first few times cooking in the kitchen that our garbage disposal was on it’s last leg, I just didn’t know how soon it was going to go.

Fast forward to cleaning up from stir-fry night, we are doing the dishes, Allen flips the disposal switch, it gives a half hearted hum annnndddd nothing. Now we are stuck with a gross (eggs, rice, veggie scraps, soy sauce good-ness) backed up concoction in our sink.

After some solid YouTube investigation, I got really excited when I found a video that had my exact model in it. That excitement soon faded when the first words out of the guy’s mouth was “this XYZ model is a super cheap contractor disposal that will fail miserably after a short time”

Well it was decided, we were getting a new disposal. A new garbage disposal will run you just under $100 for a decent one (we got this one), however it can get expensive if you have to have it professionally installed.

This is one task that I would highly recommend being a YouTube-handyman. Aside from the potential gross mess you might have to deal with from your old disposal, it is a relatively straight forward replacement. Allen and I were able to do it in about 20 minutes.

Week 2: My Dog is a Derp and Doesn’t Understand Windows

My dog has a thing for bunnies (like most dogs I guess). It pains him to the core when he sees a bunny that he can’t get. He will sit at the window and squeal and whine like he is in physical pain because he wants to play with the bunny.

Well, one day Enzo went full derp (we call him a derp-a-doodle) and slammed head first into our beautiful picture window in the living room, leaving 4 cracks through the inside pane of glass.

As soon as I saw those cracks, my stomach dropped. Allen used to sell windows so I knew roughly what it would cost.

As you can imagine, living in Minnesota we need some pretty good windows on our houses. Also with how codes are in the area, the way you have to take a new construction window out, means you have to do a full frame replacement to the tune of ~$400.

Luckily Allen’s old manager was really helpful and got us a good deal on the window. Our new window ended up being just shy of $2000.

Enzo with his newly replaced window

Day 35: The 20 Minute, $20K+ Hail Storm

Twenty minutes, that’s all the longer the hailstorm lasted (or so we were told, we were in California for a wedding). When we arrived home that night, our neighborhood looked like a war-zone, trees down and leaves and debris everywhere.

It was dark out and there was not super obvious damage to our property so we went to bed feeling pretty good.

Upon further inspection in the daylight, our windows were completely chipped around the trim, two visible holes in the siding, and who knew what the roof looked like.

I remember calling our insurance agent and my exact words were “Hi, I just bought a house, and now I have hail damage from the storm last night. I am not sure how to adult but I am assuming this is why I have insurance, can you help me with what my next steps are.”

Turns out this is exactly why I have insurance

We were recommend a contractor by our friends and have had the insurance adjuster out 3 times. Overall the insurance company hasn’t been too hard to deal with but I do give my contractor a lot of credit. He has been a huge advocate for us.

Those two holes in our siding? He was able to prove there is not an exact match of siding on the market so we are getting our whole house re-sided.

When I had setup the insurance policy, my agent had asked about raising my deductible to lower my monthly payment. Maybe a few years down the line I will raise it but because I didn’t have a huge emergency fund built up, I decided to leave my deductible at $1000, and boy am I glad I did.

While the whole process of going through the claim is additional stress I wasn’t prepared for, I am happy that when it is all said and done we will have a new roof, new siding, and 3 new windows for $1000.

Day ??: The Arctic Tundra of the Drawer Freezer

Over the course of a couple days I noticed the fridge getting warmer and warmer. Like the true problem solver I am, I simply assumed Allen was messing with the thermostat and I would crack it colder (or what I thought was colder, later found out it was warmer)

Allen thought I was doing the same thing and was cranking it the other direction.

Day 3 rolled around and it was clear that our fridge was keeping nothing cold, while at the same time everything in the freezer had grown at least half an inch of ice.

With my fridge fixing skills exhausted, we called a local repairman and were told it was $80 just to have them come look at it.

Allen ended up dealing with the repair guy so I don’t recall exactly what was wrong, but essentially the freezer thermostat broke which set it haywire and froze the coils so much that it couldn’t cool the fridge.

It ended up costing about $200 in parts and $180 for labor to get our fridge working again. Luckily I was slacking and hadn’t been grocery shopping that week so the food we had to replace was minimal (milk, condiments, etc)

You know what every homeowner wants to hear when they are in the middle of an insurance claim? That they should file another one.

Allen and I have been upgrading our house to be a smart home. It has been really nice to have everything controlled from our phones. As part of the upgrade, we are swapping out most of our light switches for smart switches.

Electrical work can be very dangerous, but if you feel comfortable with how it works, switching light switches and outlets are pretty straightforward.

We were rewiring a dimming three-way light and accidentally wired them with a direct short on one of the switches. When you have a short your circuit breaker will trip to cut the electricity to that circuit.

Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work.

When we flipped the light off, there was a loud hum/buzz from our breaker box and when we rushed down there the breaker was still in the on position. In fact, it had arced and welded itself in the on position.

By the way, this all happened at 11 pm on a Friday night. I frantically searched online, found some electricians that at least answered their phones 24/7 and made an appointment for the next morning.

The electrician we hired showed me the tiered labor pricing depending on how much he needed to do. He started investigating and told me he had never seen a circuit breaker do that.

He also found that the wire had melted in places which is when he suggested another insurance claim. To properly fish a new wire through, it would be well over $2000.

For a temporary fix, I settled with replacing two of the breakers to that box with arc fault breakers, which run about $180 each. Add that with $380 in labor/weekend visit fees, and suddenly having a smart home is getting really expensive.

On top of all of this, I no longer trust our circuit breaker so I am still figuring out what to do about that.

Two Days Ago: Who Glues Towel Racks to the Wall?

Our house came with big hunky ceramic towel racks and toilet paper holders in every bathroom. After putting up with a full roll of toilet paper not being able to rotate for 6 months we finally decided to replace them.

Instead of simply using silicon around the edges like a sane person, the builder slathered that shizz all over the ends of racks and stuck them on the wall.

Allen being Allen doesn’t have the patience to try and slowly chip away at it, so one big tug later and the towel rack was down…..and there were 2 holes in the wall.

As I mentioned before, when you live in an apartment you don’t have things like paint rollers, drywall putty and tools, etc. So one trip to Home Depot and $65 spent, we have all the supplies to fix the holes and repaint the bathroom.

What You Can Learn from My Spending

Emergency Fund

You should have some kind of emergency fund to take care of unexpected expenses, but as a homeowner, you will need a larger fund.

Trust me, I did not plan on spending thousands of dollars the first few months of owning a home. Our house is only 17 years old, I knew we might need some tools but major repairs and replacements were not in the plan.

Having an emergency fund will save you from having to scramble for funds or having to go into debt when unexpected expenses pop up. Many expects recommend having 3-6 months worth of expenses set aside.

Know What You Can Fix and What Needs a Professional

You can save yourself some big bucks by doing work yourself. You can also mess things up and end up costing yourself even more money in the long run.

To get the best deal, be realistic with yourself about what your skill set is.

When our circuit breaker broke, Allen was just going to go pick a new one up at the store and try to fix it. I put my foot down that we were in above our heads and needed a professional, even if it was expensive. I am really happy that we had someone come out because we would not have been able to fix it properly ourselves.

The internet has great resources for many house projects, just make sure you pay close attention to how difficult they say it will be.

Consider a Home Warranty

A home warranty will typically cover repairs for things such as your heater, A/C, appliances, roof leaks, electrical, etc. They were typically be several hundred to a thousand dollars and each time someone has to come out to make a repair you will pay a flat “service fee” typically under $100.

Much like extended warranties, I was skeptical of if we needed one. Ultimately we decided against it.

Looking back, it would have covered a couple of our repairs (the refrigerator, and the circuit breaker) but not others (the hail damage, the window). The garbage disposal probably would have been covered but the cost for us to do was about the same as the service fee and we got it all taken care of in a night.

When considering a home warranty, I would recommend looking at how much you have in your emergency fund and if you think that is sufficient coverage for possible repairs. If not, it might be nice to get the warranty.

Conclusion

The first 6 months of being a homeowner has been a roller coaster. We have learned many lessons and spent quite a bit of money.

We are currently working on re-funding our emergency fund as well as paying down debt. We would love to update some aspects of the house, but after experiencing Murphy’s law first hand, I know we need to focus on the emergency fund.

Leave a comment telling me if you have ever had a lot of unexpected expense all at once.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/20/how-i-spent-thousands-of-dollars-my-first-six-months-as-a-home-owner/feed/045513 Free Things to Do When You Are Boredhttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/16/13-free-things-to-do-when-you-are-bored/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/16/13-free-things-to-do-when-you-are-bored/#respondMon, 16 Oct 2017 11:44:55 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=429Read More »]]>This article discusses activities you can do to entertain yourself for free! Sometimes I found myself heading to the store to spend money just because I am bored. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

Have you ever found yourself spending money simply because you are bored and have nothing else to do? I have!

Just yesterday I found myself sitting on the couch, catching up on my Dancing with the Stars, when I saw a commercial for mouth wash. That reminded me, “hey, we’re out of floss” which triggered the “you could go to Target and get floss… and see if they have any cute tops for apple picking this weekend.”

I mindlessly told the dogs to go into their kennels, grabbed my purse, and got in my car. I “woke up” right as I was turning out of the neighborhood. What am I doing? I am really this motivated to go get floss? Since when have I cared so much about dental hygiene?

I realized that I had jumped at any excuse to go do something, even though it meant I might be spending $30+ on new clothes that I neither needed nor would have bought otherwise.

Instead of driving the 10 minutes to Target, I pulled my car into the CVS, ran in, grabbed my $0.99 floss, and hurried back home.

And now it has come full circle, instead of spending money to curb my boredom, I am writing a post about things I could have done that are completely free to occupy my time.

Here are some things to try when you get a case of boredom spending.

Go to the Library

It’s amazing to me how many people have never been to their local library. Next time you are bored, head over to your library. You could grab a few books or movies to take home and enjoy. Or many libraries have free events and clubs you cold join.

Call an Old Friend and Catch Up

I have been the worst with calling and talking to some of my friends from college. I see their posts on Facebook, they see mine; it feels like I know what is going on in their life.

Practically every cell phone plan these days has unlimited minutes, so use them. Next time you don’t know what to do for a little, call up a friend or relative and see what is new in their life.

Play with your Pet

Nothing boosts your mood more than playing with an adorable dog (or cat or hamster or fish or whatever floats your boat). Dig out some long forgotten toys from the bottom of the toy basket and have some fun.

You could also pamper them with a bath, massage, or paw-icure (I couldn’t resist), the best part is, not only is it free, it could also save you money on grooming!

Make a Gift for Someone

The most special gifts are often homemade. Whether it is as simple as a card, or more involved project, I am sure you can find something to make. You can find a million ideas on Pinterest.

This one could end up costing some money in material, but challenge yourself to make something with just the stuff you have in your house, like these cool coffee filter flowers

Take Online Surveys

Instead of spending money, try making some! Online surveys are a great way to fill time when you a couple extra minutes you don’t know what else to do with.

I personally like Swagbucks the best, they have the easiest rewards to redeem and most surveys available. Swagbucks also has other ways to earn money including playing games and watching videos.

Cook a Meal

No matter if it is meal time or not, you can always cook a meal. I used to always find my Sunday afternoons seemed to drag. Now I meal prep my lunches to pass the time quicker. Not only am I saving money on something to do, but I am also saving money by packing my lunch!

This can also save you money if you are bored on a weeknight. It can be tempting to go out to eat to escape your house, but try cooking at home.

Learn a New Skill

There are tons of free ways to learn really cool skills. You could use DuoLingo to learn a new language, you could watch YouTube videos to learn how to tie knots, or you could even ask your neighbor, Steve, to teach you how to perfectly edge your lawn along your driveway, the possibilities are endless. (Hi Steve!)

Volunteer

Another one with endless possibilities. Volunteering is not only free, but it also helps other people! You could go to your local food bank, a women’s shelter, an animal rescue, a school, a park, etc and start helping people. It feels good to give back to your community!

Find a Free Event

There are so many free events happening in your community, go check one out. In both small towns and large cities there are always free events going on. Maybe there is a local farmers market or free concert in park. Facebook events and google are great places to check for local happenings.

Organize Your Home

A great way to pass the time is organizing your home. Maybe your closet needs some love, or paperwork has piled up in stacks on your desk. Organizing not only gives you something to do, it also can give you deep inner peace of living in a clean space.

Bonus: you can save a little tax money by taking your clutter and donating it to a non-profit!

Write

Whether it is your personal journal, a thoughtful comment on a blog post, or maybe a short story, writing is a great way to occupy your mind for free. There are so many benefits to writing, and the best part is that you have everything you need to do it in your house

I have found it really beneficial to write for the blog when I am bored. I feel productive and creative at the same time.

Go for a Walk or Exercise

Getting up and moving is a great way to shake your boredom. Take a walk out around the block to take in some fresh air. Or check out some free workout videos on Youtube to get a great workout in your living room.

Watch a Movie

If you have cable, Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, etc why not check out a new movie. I know sometimes I have trouble finding something that looks interesting but I have had a lot of success doing a quick internet search to see what people are recommending for the videos I haven’t heard of.

If you don’t have any of these services (or friends that will let you steal their login info) you can check Youtube for many free movies and documentaries.

Leave a comment telling me what no-spend activity you do when you are bored.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/16/13-free-things-to-do-when-you-are-bored/feed/0429How to Own a Dog Without Breaking the Bankhttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/11/how-to-own-a-dog-without-breaking-the-bank/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/11/how-to-own-a-dog-without-breaking-the-bank/#commentsWed, 11 Oct 2017 13:03:56 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=401Read More »]]>This article discusses the financial aspect of owning a dog. You will learn ways to save money on all your dog’s needs including adoption fee, vet bills, and basic necessities. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

I wanted to start a new series about how to save money when you are making large purchases. After making a few large purchases over the last few years I have learned a lot about how to get the most bang for the buck. The information provided is based partly on my own experience but mainly relies on research to fill in the details. I really hope you find this helpful when making your own major money moves

Many people and families love having dogs in their lives. Dogs offer companionship, loyalty, and friendship. Dogs are a lot of fun, however, they also come with added financial responsibility.

I will show you how to save some money if you are thinking about or already own a dog. I break down the biggest spending categories for owning a dog and how different options vary in price.

Before jumping to all the numbers, get hype with some adorable pictures of my fur-babies!!!!

Enzo the Goldendoodle and Roxy the Rottie Mix

Homing a Dog

When you go to adopt a dog there is normally some type of “rehoming”/adoption fee. The price will vary greatly depending on where you get your dog from. While the initial price of the dog might seem steep, it is rather small compared to the expenses of a dog over its life.

Shelter/Rescue

Typically this will be your cheapest option. Adoption fees at a shelter usually range from $50-$300 and can sometime vary by the age of the dog; older dogs (2+ year olds) will be cheaper because they are seen as less desirable than puppies. Your adoption fee will go towards running the shelter and helping more animals get adopted later.

The real savings on getting a dog from a shelter is that the dogs are up to date on their shots and they are most likely already spayed or neutered. This will easily save your hundreds of dollars in vet bills down the line.

Breeder

Going to a breeder is good if you are looking for a specific breed of dog but it will cost you. Prices for dogs can vary greatly depending on the prestige and bloodline of the dogs but typically dogs will be $600-$1000+ with some expensive exceptions if you are looking for a rare breed.

Normally you will get a young puppy from a breeder. They should be update on their shots so far but will require the last couple rounds of shots as well as being spayed/neutered

Pet Store

Some pet stores have puppies available for sale. Pet stores tend to be the most expensive at around $1200-$1800+ for a puppy. One of the reasons for this cost is because a pet store has a lot more overhead than a shelter or breeder would.

Puppies from pet stores should be up to date on shots but might still need a few more as well as sprayed/neutered. Sometimes pet stores will include merchandise such as a crate, food, or toys which will save you a few bucks.

Vet Bills

Vet bills can easily add up to the most expensive cost of owning a dog. Let’s look at some different options and how you can save on each.

Yearly Shots and Check Up

Your dog will need to have a set of shots annually. The shots might include all or some for Rabies, Bordetella, Distemper, Lyme, Parvo, and more.

Vaccine Clinic – The cheapest way to get these annual shots for your dog would be at a vaccine clinic. Keep your eye out at your local pet store and shelters or check online to see when clinics are being held. You should be able to find a couple clinics a month in your area. I was able to get all the shots for my dog at a clinic for just under $30.

The cost of the vaccine clinic normally just covers the shots and does not include an overall check up on your pup.

Vet – You can also schedule an annual checkup at your vet where they will administer your dog’s yearly shots. The visit would also serve as a checkup to your dog’s overall health and could possible alert you to any issues your dog might have (and save money on emergency vet bills).

The price of a checkup and shots at a vet will vary but the average range is from $75-$125.

Spay/Neuter

Unless you plan on breeding your dog, it is always a good idea to get them spayed/neutered.

Clinic – Similar to the vaccines, you can normally find a clinic that offers a lower cost option for spay/neuter. If you have trouble finding one, ask your local shelter where they have their dogs spayed since shelters typically use low cost vets. Check out the ASPCA’s spay and neuter clinic website to find local clinics.

If you use a clinic for your dog’s surgery it should run you between $100-$200.

Vet – Another option to spay or neuter your pup is to have your vet do it. Your vet will typically be more expensive than a clinic because they only do a couple a day whereas the clinic will do somewhere around 20+ a day. Vet bills for spay/neuter can vary greatly but expect to pay $300-$500+.

Medicines

Your dog will require some medication/treatments all year round and the occasional one off medicine from the vet. Your dog will most likely be on heart worm protection which typically consists of one pill a month and during the warmer months he will need flea and tick protection.

Depending on what brand/type of prevention medicine, you can expect to spend between $15-$40 per month for medicine. Even though this might seem a little expensive, vet visits or lymes disease or heartworms could be even more.

Emergency and Specialty Care

Unfortunately accidents happen, and when it comes to dogs, care for accidents can be expensive. I can’t really give you an exact number on what a specific emergency care costs, but I do know some examples from experience

Our dog starts limping around and we rush to the vet before they were going to close in 15 minutes. Roxy proceeded to run around at the vet, no limp whatsoever. The vet guess that her leg simply fell asleep….smh. Cost: $100 for the exam and some doggy Advil

My dad’s dog had a problem with one of her teeth. She needed to go to a specialist doggy dental surgeon to have it removed. Cost: $900

My neighbor’s dog ate a pack of sugar-free gum (the artificial sweetener cannot be processed by dogs). The dog spent two days at the emergency vet for treatment. Cost: $1800

You always hope that nothing happens, but you should be prepared for unexpected emergency expenses.

Food and Treats

Food

If you walk down the dog food aisle, you will notice a wide range on prices.You might have to do your own research on what kind of food you want to feed your dog, but as long as your dog does not have any major allergies you can typically pick whatever brand (and price) you want.

For dogs that require special food such as grain-free look for generic store brands, such as Costco’s “Nature’s Domain”, to save. My dogs love it and it is less than half the price of the name brand grain-free food.

The amount you will spend on food will also vary greatly depending on how much your dog eats so factor that in as you are picking out your dog. My two large dogs go through a 35 lbs bag of food in about 3 weeks. Our friend’s 5 lbs dog takes a year to go through a similar sized bag.

Treats

Some people give their dogs treats all the time and others rarely do. These category might vary a lot from person to person but in order to get the most bang for your buck, try buying larger bulk packages.

Also typically milk bone style treats are cheaper than the moist/chewy treats.

You can also experiment with making your own treats from ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Pinterest is a great resource to find recipes!

My friends and I have found that Ibotta almost always has at 15% off Petsmart deal (in-store purchases only), all you have to do is scan your receipt. If you use this link to sign up for Ibotta, you get $10 after you redeem your first offer (that’s a couple free toys!)

Other Necessities

Grooming

Certain types of dogs require extensive grooming while others are fine with just the occasional bath and brushing. To save the most money on grooming opt for a breed that falls into the latter. Your only grooming expenses will be some shampoo and a brush, about $10 or so a year.

For breeds that require grooming, a typical bath and haircut will run from $50-$100+ depending on the size and breed of the dog. To save money on breeds that need regular grooming, opt for haircuts that have a long growth cycle so you can stretch out the time in between grooming.

I have learned to get our goldendoodle’s hair cut short so that he can go 3-4 months between haircuts. When we have the groomer leave it relatively long he has to go back in 6 weeks for another $100 haircut

You could also save a lot by learning how to cut your dog’s hair yourself (if you are brave enough/your dog is chill enough)

Boarding

You will need to have a plan for your dog if you ever need to go out of town for a few days.

The cheapest and usually free option would to have a trusted friend or family member watch him. You could also bring your dog with you for pretty cheap although if you are staying at hotels, keep in mind there could be extra fees for having a pet.

If none of those options work you will probably need to kennel your dog or hire a dog sitter. Prices can vary greatly depending on the services but plan to spend $20-$40+ per day. We have had good luck finding great sitters on Rover.com that are reasonably priced

Crate, Leash, Collar

A crate, leash, and collar are all good ideas when you have a dog. Typically if you are looking to save money, avoid fancy pet stores and shop online for better deals.

For a crate, try checking craigslist or local garage sales to score the best deals. Crates will vary depending on size but plan to spend $50-$100 on one for a medium size dog.

Bones and Chew Toys etc

It’s important to keep your dog entertained (or they might start making toys out of your belongings), and one of the best ways to do that is with toys and bones.

An easy way to save on toys is to make some of your own with materials you already have around the house. Check out this list of tutorials for making dog toys out of things from around your house.

You can also normally find holiday themed clearance toys after major holiday to score toys for cheap (I promise your dog doesn’t know he is playing with a snowman toy in July :))

To save on bones, opt for ones that will last a while. Nylabones come in varying strengths and can last months.

The Unpredictable/My Dog is a A-Hole

One last note, there are also a lot of unpredictable costs to owning a dog. A few examples might be…

*cough* your puppy loves to chew everything including puncturing a bottle of Gorilla Glue that dries all over the carpet in the apartment you are renting *cough*

or *cough* when the same said dog tries to jump through the window in your new house to chase a bunny and breaks your $2000 window….. *cough*

annnnnddddd that’s why you should have an emergency fund

The culprit looking out his newly replaced window

Conclusion

As you can see there are many ways to save money and still have a dog. Just remember to make money smart decisions and you don’t have to break the bank to own a dog

Please carefully consider if you are ready for the financial burden that is a pet before you adopt a furry friend.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/11/how-to-own-a-dog-without-breaking-the-bank/feed/4401Top 5 Millennial Money Mistakeshttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/09/top-5-millennial-money-mistakes/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/09/top-5-millennial-money-mistakes/#commentsMon, 09 Oct 2017 15:22:48 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=334Read More »]]>This article discuss the 5 biggest money mistakes that you and I have made. We also look at ways to fix money mistakes on the journey to financial independence.This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

As you read through different articles about personal finance you will hear a lot about what you should and shouldn’t do. Most of the time it feels like a laundry list of guidelines and that can make it harder to follow.

I have found that all those guidelines boil down to correcting and not making these 5 mistakes.

While I was writing this article, I must have changed the order of these topics at least 20 times. It may be that one or two of these might be the “most important” but really, they all go hand and hand for your financial well being.

1. Not Keeping a Budget

Perhaps the biggest money mistake that people make, is not keeping a budget. Keeping a budget, lets you know what money you are bringing in as well as where it all goes.

Without a budget you might still be able to pay your bills and buy things but you have no way of keeping track of your financial health. A budget makes it easy to find ways to shift your spending and savings to help you achieve your goals.

There are tons of different ways to keep a budget; spreadsheets, notebooks, apps, websites, I guarantee there is one that will work for you. I personally use a combination of my free budget binder, a spreadsheet and Mint/Personal Capital to keep track of my budget and net worth.

Don’t be afraid to try different methods until you find the one that works for you!

2. Not Paying Yourself First and Saving

A recent survey by GoBankingRates found that 69% of people have less than $1000 dollars in their savings account, and even more shocking, 34% don’t even have a savings account.

A savings account is a must. It can buffer the impact of unexpected life events such as job loss, emergency home maintenance, and car repairs. Having an emergency fund of at least $1000 is a great place to start, however you should be contributing to it consistently until you have a more substantial amount. Experts typically recommend you have 3-6+ months of living expenses stashed away in your emergency fund.

Once you have your emergency fund lock down, you can use your savings for bigger purchases; such as vacations, a car, or home improvements. You could also transition the money that you had been putting into savings and start investing it.

3. Not Investing Early

The best time to start investing for your future is yesterday, but since we live in the present, today is the second best day.

The more time you give your investments to grow, the more you can take advantage of compounding interest. I run through the whole principle of compounding interest and investing early in this article.

Basically the sooner you start investing, the sooner you start earning interest, and the sooner you start earning interest on your interest.

If you want to retire, start investing early, even if it is just a few bucks a month. For retirement, it is best to use tax advantaged accounts such as a 401k, IRA, or Roth IRA, to really get the most out of your money.

One of the simplest ways to start investing is through apps like Acorns. Acorns rounds up your transactions and transfers the difference into an investment portfolio. One of the great things is that there is no minimum to the Acorns account, so you could even use it to start investing before you meet the minimums for larger investing companies

4. Not Paying Off High Interest Debt

Debt can ruin your financial health and be a burden on many aspects of your life. Whether its credit cards, student loans, car loans, collections or any other type of debt, it is not doing you any favors.

The more debt you carry, the more you money you lose to interest payments and fees.

Set up a plan to pay off your debt to set yourself up for a better financial future. Both the snowball and avalanche are great plans for repaying debt.

Destroying your debt is not easy and it will require sacrifices but it will be worth it in the end when you can use your money for other things instead of interest payments.

Related: Steps to paying down debts

5. Not Living Below Your Means

It is very tempting to live above your means. Buying and owning nice things might give you the outward appearance of living the dream, but it can leave your budget hurting.

Living above your means can lead to debt, lack of savings and investing, and stress about money.

To avoid spending above your means, make sure you think carefully about how each purchase fits in with your budget and goals. Make sure you assess all aspects of a purchase.

For example, buying a new car to replace your old beater you own out right. On the surface you might think you just have to deal with a new car payment, but have you thought about how your insurance is going to skyrocket? Maybe you live in a state whose registration is based on the value of the car? What’s the difference in gas mileage?

Avoiding and correcting these 5 budget mistakes will help you on your journey to financial freedom.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/09/top-5-millennial-money-mistakes/feed/2334Free Budget Binder Printablehttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/06/free-budget-binder-printable/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/06/free-budget-binder-printable/#commentsFri, 06 Oct 2017 11:20:12 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=370Read More »]]>This article introduces my budget binder printable, an organizational printable designed to help you manage your personal finances. The full PDF of the printable will be emailed to you when you signup below. This article contains affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

Call me old fashion but I have found that I stick to a budget so much better if I write things down. After a few months of using some plain notebook paper, I got fed up and decided there had to be a less ugly, more organized way to track my budget.

I searched Pinterest for a while and found a few good budget binders out there, but non of them had all the pages I was looking for. It was time to put my creativity to the test and make a budget binder of my own.

After some trial and error I had the first draft of my sheets. I have been using the budget binder for months now and had to make a few changes to sheets to get it to the point where I want to share it with my lovely readers.

Below, I walk through each page and how to use it.

In order to get a pdf of my complete budget binder, simply sign up below and it will be delivered right to your inbox!

Print a Complete Year Binder

To build an annual binder you will need to print the following number of each page:

1-2 Goals Sheets

1 Reoccurring Payments Sheet

12 Month at a Glance Sheets

12 Monthly Debt Tracker Sheets

24+ Expense Reporting Sheets

Goals

Any good financial plan should include a set of goals. Whether they are goals for the next 6 months or 6 years, it is always good to write them down so you can revisit and work towards them.

Each goal should have a few action steps to break it down into easier to achieve steps. For example if your goal is to save $5000 over the next three years for a down payment, an action step might be to start brown bagging your lunch and put the extra money in a savings account.

You should fill out this sheet when you first start your budget binder but revisit it often to see how you are progressing on your goals. You can make notes of your progress on the back or on your monthly summary pages.

Reoccurring Payments

Here is where you can keep track of all your payments. For each monthly payment fill out a line with the description, the amount, and the day of the month it occurs. I also added a column to keep track of what account an automatic payment is setup to come out of.

As you pay your bills each month, just check off that month for each bill.

You can also use this to keep track of bi-monthly, quarterly, or annual payments by simply shading in the boxes for months that you don’t have to pay that bill.

Month at a Glance

This is your main dash board for checking in and seeing how you are doing. At the beginning of each month you should go through and fill out your expected income and expenses. If you need more help with filling out your expenses check out how to make a budget and what you are forgetting in your budget

At the end of each month (and possibly throughout the month) you want to fill in what your actual income and expenses were for the month. This is super easy if you have been using your expense tracker to keep track of your spending.

I also like to keep track of the balances of all my accounts (checking, savings, 401K, Acorns, etc). You could also do this online using a service like Personal Capital or Mint. At the end of the month go through and fill in the balance of each of your accounts.

Monthly Debt Tracker

This sheet is very important if you are looking to pay down your debts. When you first setup your binder you should go through all your accounts and write down the balances of all your credit accounts, the interest rate, and the minimum payment.

I include all this information because it will help you figure out if you want to use the snowball or avalanche repayment methods as well as let you be honest with yourself about your journey ahead.

As you pay bills throughout the month, track how much you paid. Then at the end of the month record your new balances and transfer those to next month’s debt tracker. I like to do debt tracking month to month so I stay accountable. You can also see how much you have paid off by keeping track of your running total on the bottom of the sheet.

Expense Reporting

This is the page where you track all your transactions. Now some of you are probably already using a service such as Mint or YNAB to track your spending and that is great, you can skip this page.

However sometimes it is really nice to still review your spending and write it down with good old pen and paper. I think I stay more accountable to myself having to physically write down each expense instead of having an app auto record expenses.

To use this sheet just fill out the spending category at the top (“Food”, “Gas”, etc). Set your spend limit for that category. Then each time you make a purchase in that category fill out a line and subtract that amount from the running total allowance.

If you use all the lines in one category simply designate another block and continue tracking. You will probably have more than 6 spending categories for each month so be sure to print out extras of this sheet.

So that’s it, you are all set to rock your finances with your budget binder.

Leave a comment or shoot me an email letting me know how the budget binder is working for you!

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/10/06/free-budget-binder-printable/feed/1370How to Manage Money as a Couplehttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/30/how-to-manage-money-as-a-couple/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/30/how-to-manage-money-as-a-couple/#respondSun, 01 Oct 2017 00:51:52 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=353Read More »]]>This article discusses steps couples can take to have a healthy financial relationship. Different views and methods are explained for how couples might handle their finances. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

Over 57% of divorced couples cite money problems as a major factor in ending their marriage. Money affects many aspects of life and when there are disagreements and difficulties it can cause major problems.

Many times money issues stem from a difference in opinion of how finances should be managed and where money should be spent.

I know firsthand the difficulties in managing money for two opposite ends of the spectrum. My husband, Allen, is a spendthrift and didn’t have a savings or retirement account when we met. While I did rack up some of my own debt, I have always valued savings and investment.

Together we have learned to compromise and find a method that works best for us.

When you are figuring out how to manage your money as a couple, follow these steps for success.

Recognize & Accept Differences

The best place to start when making a plan is to find out what matters to you and to your partner. Do you want to retire early? Do you like spending money on experiences and enjoying life now?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to have both of you make a list of the top things you think money should (or shouldn’t) be spent on. Take turns explaining why each item on your lists are important to you.

While I wouldn’t try to psycho-analyze your partner and have them tell you every single detail, but I think it is a good idea to get more of a background on where your partner got their money values.

For example, Allen grew up in a family that when they had money, they spent money and when money was tight they did without. In contrast, my mom works for one of the top retirement/mutual fund companies and I was raised constantly hearing about how she puts money in savings and when money was tight we relied on the savings. Understanding our different upbringings helps me better understand why Allen does like to save and plan out his money as much.

After you learn about your partner’s financial values, it’s time to find the middle ground. If you are at the point in your relationship that you are combining finances, clearly you love your partner for many reasons and already know that you can’t change them completely. So figure out how much you each are willing to give and come up with some financial goals.

Setup Money Meetings

Not to sound like a broken record, but communication is key in a relationship and that is no different for managing your finances. A dedicated money meeting is a necessity to managing joint finances and keeping everyone happy.

Even if one partner tends to handle all of the financials, it is important to meet so that the other partner doesn’t feel completely in the dark or like something is being hidden from them.

Figure out how often you want to have money meetings, weekly? Monthly? Bi-monthly? Allen and I have bi-monthly meetings and I would highly recommend it for couples that aren’t sure where to start. This way at the beginning of the month you can review how last month went and set goals for the upcoming month. In the middle of the month you can see how well you are sticking to your goals and make any adjustments to finish the month strong.

You can decide exactly what you want to talk about in your meetings but some possible topics include, budget/spending, debt repayment, investments, net worth, short and long term goals. While it is great to talk about all of these things, make sure the it doesn’t turn into dwelling on each other’s mistakes.

Try Different Money Management Methods

There are tons of different ways to handle money as a couple. Three of the most common ways include: completely joined, joined with separate fun money accounts, and completely separate. While these are pretty self-explanatory, let’s take a look at each one a little more in depth.

Couples that manage their money completely together will typically just have one joint checking account that all their expenses are paid from. This method usually works best for couples that have similar spending habits. It can also simplify your finances by not having to worry about setting up transfers and having a million bank accounts.

Another common way for couples to manage money is to have one joint account that major bills (mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc) are paid out of and then each person keeps a separate account for fun money that they can spend however they see fit.

Allen and I use this method. We each get a small weekly “allowance” transferred from our joint account into our individual ones for us to use on smaller spending. This method helps us avoid silly arguments about if I really need to get my nails done or does he absolutely need another video game; if we have money in our individual accounts, it is fair game.

One the opposite end of the spectrum, some couples choose to keep their money completely separate. Shared bills are split for each person to pay their part and then each partner does want they want with the leftover money. This method works well for couples that have very different spending habits or have a large difference in income.

Don’t be Too Hard on Each Other

As with anything with life, people are going to make mistakes. Sometimes with finances, especially when you have differing views, it is easy to be hyper-critical of your partner’s mistakes.

When mistakes happen, don’t play the blame game. Instead make a plan of how you can get back on track together and how you can prevent the same mistakes from happening again.

Leave a comment letting me know how you manage your money as a couple or a challenge you have faced with your partner and money.

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/30/how-to-manage-money-as-a-couple/feed/0353The Incredible Power of Compound Interesthttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/26/the-incredible-power-of-compound-interest/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/26/the-incredible-power-of-compound-interest/#commentsTue, 26 Sep 2017 10:41:32 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=337Read More »]]>This article discusses the incredible power of compound interest. We take a look had how different investing scenarios affect your wealth’s growth and the most important factors for compounding. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

If you have been hanging around the personal finance community you have probably heard some version of: “The best time to start investing is 5 years ago, the next best time is today.”

Even modest investments can grow to wealthy sums given enough time. Because of the compounding nature of investments, time is the greatest factor that determines how your investments grow.

I believe the best way to really see the power of compounding is to look at a different investment scenarios.

One Time Contribution

Let’s pretend Ashley is 20-year-old college student. Ashley has worked hard and gotten scholarships to pay for her tuition, and has a part time job to cover her living expenses. One day after enjoying her mac and cheese from Noodles she sees a survey at the bottom of her receipt that she can fill out to possibly win $5,000.

Three months later she has totally forgotten about the mac and cheese and the survey until she gets a call telling her she won and that she needs to fill out some tax paper work and then they would mail her a check. Side note: this actually happened to one of my friends, no idea what she actually did with the money, but who knew people actually won these contests!

Ashley takes her winnings and adds a little extra to max out her Roth IRA for the year with $5500. She invests in an index fund with an average return of 8%.

She promptly forgets about the account and doesn’t add anymore money to it until she is 65 and ready to retire.

Ashley is shocked that her original $5500 investment had grown to over $162,000. The chart shows how the earnings quickly outweigh her initial investment.

Annual Contributions

Now, let’s pretend the Ashley keeps eating mac and cheese and keeps winning survey contests (or maybe she gets a decent paying job in her field, makes a budget, lives modestly with roommates and an old car, and puts part of her salary into retirement savings)

Each year she diligently maxes out her Roth IRA contribution of $5500 and invests it in an index fund earning 8% interest.

This time when she is ready to retire at 65, she has over $2,125,000. Over the 45 years of her career she put away a total $247,500 of her own money. The chart shows how much she was able to earn, and how her interest far outpaces her investment.

The Time Factor

Procrastinating is human nature. It is easy to put off investing because you “need the money now” or “you’ll save extra next year”.

Every year that you put off investing, you are costing yourself one year from the end of the chart. The longer you put off investing, the more you will have to contribute (or the longer you will have to work) to retire with the same amount of money.

Investment Friends

To illustrate the cost of waiting, let’s consider Ashley’s friends, Marco and Sarah.

Marco graduates college and it takes him a year or two to get comfortable with his budget and paying down student loans. At the age of 25 he reads this article and decides to make investing a priority and starts maxing out his Roth IRA at $5500 per year.

Sarah continues on to graduate school and feels as though she has no money to contribute to retirement. When she starts working, she doesn’t want to invest until after she pays off all of her loans. At the age of 35 her loans are paid off and she wants to dedicate all the money she was putting towards her loans towards her retirement. She maxes out her Roth IRA and puts $5500 in her 401Kfor a total contribution of $11000 per year.

The chart below shows how each of their investments grow.

Ultimately, Ashley contributed $247,500 over 45 years, Marco contributed $220,000 over 40 years, and Sarah contributed $330,000 over 30 years. Even though Sarah contributed the most, she retires with the smallest sum of $1.25 million. Marco was able to save a nice sum of $1.42 million. And Ashley, whose money had the longest to grow, retires with $2.13 million.

Takeaways

Start Early. The longer your money has to grow, the more you can take advantage of compounding interest. As you saw in Ashley’s case, her money had the longest to grow and she retires with the largest value.

The next best thing to starting early is starting now. Marco was still able to save up a good amount for retirement by starting when he could. If you haven’t started investing yet, there is no need to be overly hard on yourself, instead, go open an IRA and start now!

Make Regular Contributions. Life happens and making regular investments can be hard but it is worth it in the long run. Although Ashley’s first contribution did grow greatly, with regular contributions she was able to build wealth sufficient to support her retirement.

Question for you: What age did you start investing?

]]>https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/26/the-incredible-power-of-compound-interest/feed/7337The Dangers of Casual Couponinghttps://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/20/the-dangers-of-casual-couponing/
https://fixingmyfinances.com/2017/09/20/the-dangers-of-casual-couponing/#respondWed, 20 Sep 2017 10:23:11 +0000https://fixingmyfinances.com/?p=326Read More »]]>This article discusses the dangers of casual couponing and the questions you need to ask yourself to avoid falling victim to them. This article may contain affiliate links, for more information please see my disclosure policy.

I will be the first to admit that I am obsessed with Ibotta. I search almost daily for deals at my frequent stores. I love a good coupon deal, however sometimes I have found myself wondering if they are really saving me money.

Professional vs. Casual Couponers

There are people that take it to the extreme and plan coupons with store policies and sales to get products for pennies on the dollar.

It is crazy to watch these people walk out of the store with ten carts overflowing with 327 tubes of toothpaste and unheard of amounts other random products that they paid a total of $3 for.

In my mind I would classify these people as professional couponers.

However, you are probably more of an Average Joe when it comes to coupons. You use a couple coupons here and there to get $0.50 your favorite cereal or maybe you submit a picture of your receipt to Ibotta to get a dollar off your body wash. You are a causal couponer.

Being a causal couponer is a double edge sword, you can save a good chunk of change on your everyday purchases but if you aren’t careful, you can end up spending more money or buying things you don’t need.

Businesses are in business to make money. Coupons are designed to help a business make more money in the long run.

Sure they might have to give you a discount on whatever you are buying this time, but what if you weren’t going to buy it at all in the first place? Or what if you get hooked and can’t live without their product so much so that you will buy it full price next time?

In order to avoid being trapped into spending more, ask yourself these questions before using a coupon

Would I have bought this product (or a similar one) anyways?

One of the biggest pitfalls of using coupons is when you buy something that you normally would not. I can’t tell you how many times I have found myself clipping coupons for hair dye, dog tooth paste, or bouncy house rentals, all of which I have never bought or planned on buying before.

A bouncy house would be an awesome edition to our next weekend cookout, but I would have never have planned to rent one if it wasn’t for that 10% off coupon. I would actually be losing money (about $150, trust me I did look), because I had not planned to purchase it in the first place.

The easiest way to make sure you don’t get trapped by coupons is to make your shopping list first. Then, you can browse ads and apps looking for deals only on the items that are on your list.

Is there a generic or other sized product that is still cheaper after a coupon?

This one drives me crazy. I will see a coupon for butter which reminds me, “oh yeah we are out of butter!” I head to store, go to grab the butter on my coupon and realize that even after the coupon, it’s still $1 more than the store brand.

Ugh! Sneaky coupons at it again.

Just because you are saving money, doesn’t mean you are saving the most money possible.

Make sure you check all your options. Whether it’s a different brand or a different size, there might be a less expensive option.

Sometimes a coupon will only be for a small size but if you buy the larger or bulk size it’s less expensive than the little size + coupon combo.

How much am I really saving?

I hate when I see a coupon that has a big “$2.00 OFF” printed on it but then when you read the fine print you see that you actually have to by 37 of a product to get the discount (ok so it’s normally closer to 2 or 3 but it might as well be 37).

Sometimes you might be on the fence for one of the two previous questions… “well I do normally buy soap, but I haven’t run out yet so I don’t need it right this second, but it’s a great deal and I will need it eventually” and I get that, I do the same thing. At some point you are going to have to decide for yourself if the discount is worth you buying it before you need it.

Can you get the product for 90% off? 50%? 20%? only 10%? You need to decide what is the discount that you really think you have found the deal of a lifetime? Just remember, before you use a coupon make sure you read the fine print and figure out what discount you are really getting. $2 off of three $4 products is a lot different than $2 off one $4 product

So, next time you are scrolling Ibotta for deals at your favorite store, ask yourself these questions, and you will be well on your way to spending wisely and saving money!